アオイシロ: Nanoha Route
by nhickz
Summary: Fate and her friends are in the kendo team and is traveling to Shoushinji for summer training camp. Near there is an island, Urashima, where a demon extermination took place long ago. 02/21/10: Updated
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha belongs to its respective owners. Aoishiro is copyrighted to its respective owners. Aoishiro web novel translation is courtesy of Wings of Yuri.

Author's Notes (A/N): Basically, this is a fusion of Nanoha and Aoishiro, following the events of Aoishiro web novel. If anyone is unfamiliar of Aoishiro, it is a yuri PS2-based visual novel game. Aoishiro then was adapted to PC months after it was released. If you are familiar with Akaiito, Aoishiro is the same universe and was said to be the sequel. This was actually the exact (with some changes I've made) web novel of Aoishiro. So, not all of it is mine. I'll stop with all the rambling and get on with the story! Please enjoy!

**The Characters**

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Fate Testarossa （フェイト・テスタロッサ）

**CV: **Mizuki Nana （水樹 奈々）

**Role: **Main Character (The Player)

**Age: **16 years old

The main character of this fanfiction. A second year student at Seijou.

She's the well-liked, ace of the kendo team who took on the role of captain after the former 3rd year captain retired.

Since she's the serious and hardworking type, she often gets teased and is on the receiving end of jokes.

---

Takamachi Nanoha （高町なのは）

**CV: **Tamura Yukari （田村ゆかり）

**Role: **The manager who tries her best

**Age:** 16 years old

A second year student at Seijou Academy.

A delicate girl who is the manager of then kendo team.

Though she doesn't have any particular illness, she has much less stamina than normal people so it's hard for her to do any strenuous exercise.

On the other hand, she's extremely determined and diligent about her job as a manager and helps contribute to the team's success.

Her hobbies are reading and cooking. Though she'll randomly read all genres, after becoming manager, she's increased the type of material that pertains to kendo such as "Continuing Kendo! ~from cradle to grave~" and "Snacks for each of the Three Meals a Day for a Sports Player".

---

Vivio （ヴィヴィオ,）

**CV: **Mizuhashi Kaori （水橋 かおり,）

**Role:** The young girl who washed up from the sea

**Age: **_Unknown_

The young girl who washed up on the shores near the location of the training camp.

Looks to be about 10 to 12 years old. Her name and age are all unknown.

The first impression of her is that of a mermaid or a doll. She doesn't seem to know who she herself is either.

The first ones she saw when she woke up were Fate and Nanoha, so it seems she became attached to them, much like a chick imprinting.

Her normal mode is to be spaced out.

---

Signum （シグナム）

**CV: **Shimizu Kaori （清水 香里）

**Role: **An audacious, worthy opponent

**Age: **_Unknown_

A young girl who is staying over at Shoushinji, the same location as the training camp. She arrived there earlier than Fate and the others.

She's fundamentally a genius.

Looking at her, there's no doubt that she's stylish either.

If she just kept quiet, she'd already be a rather beautiful girl, so along with her outstanding athletic ability, she has rather high specs and is a praiseworthy person.  
She's got a light carefree personality.

Perhaps it's because she was raised in the South, but she's seems rather loose with deadlines. However, her movement pattern regarding the tides indicates that might not be the case?

---

Chrono/Kuro （クロノ・クロ）

**CV:** Sugita Tomokazu （杉田 智和）

**Role:** The swordsman dressed in black

**Age:** _Unknown, looks about 20 years old_

He is the sword-wielding oni who stole the sealed Sword from the Suten Group of the Onikiribe, and is currently headed to a place where he has a strong karmic bond.

---

Jail Scaglietti （ジェイル・スカリエッティ）

**CV:** Narita Ken （成田権）

**Role:** The mysterious onmyouji

**Age:** _Unknown_

The pretentious speech doesn't match the youthful looks.

A person of many mysteries who has a dignified presence. The sword at the waist is 2 shaku 7 sun long (~81 cm).

The left eye is constantly closed.

Age and gender are unknown.

---

Arisa Bannings （アリサバニングス）

**CV:** Kugimiya Rie （釘宮 理恵）

**Role: **An energetic and noisy, promising hope

**Age:** 16 years old

Seijou Girls Academy second year student. Belongs to the kendo team.

Though she only started kendo in high school and has only been learning for not even half a year, because of her high, natural athletic ability, strong determination, and the will to win, those three pillars of strength have her pegged as the next ace.

She has many varied; passing interests in a variety of things but is a bit bothersome about a certain genre of music.

When she entered high school, it was vital for her to join the light music/rock club, but since it didn't exist, she abandoned the idea and followed Nanoha into joining the kendo team.

She's a dorm student and is Nanoha's roommate.

---

Lindy Harlaown （リンヂハラオウン）

**CV:** Hisakawa Aya （久川彩）

**Role:** The enthusiastic advisor who wears sweatpants

**Age:** _Unknown, she doesn't like to talk about it_

The advisor to the Seijou Girl's Academy kendo team.

A new teacher who became the advisor to the kendo team after the previous advisor retired.

She's really fired up about her work since she considers her profession her calling, and wants to be seen as dependable by the students.

The truth is, she's completely hopeless at kendo, likes drinking sake, has a complex about her name, wears glasses, and since she's had more life experiences than the students, it seems she's been through a lot.

---

Yagami Hayate （八神 はやて）

**CV:** Ueda Kana （植田 佳奈）

**Role:** The Ojou-sama of the Kendo Team

**Age:** 16 years old

A 2nd year student at Seijou Girls Academy. Belongs to the Kendo Team.  
Just like her appearance, she is a gentle ojou-sama type.

As the Vice-Captain, in combination with her classmate Fate, the two function as a "Sweet and Whip" policy.

Her abilities are rather good, but because she is weak-willed, she's the type that can never give her all in matches.

On the other hand, her form is extremely pretty.

Her parents, especially her father are really overprotective, so she was the person who had the hardest time getting approval for this time's summer training camp, and has an obligation to call home in the mornings and evenings.

---

Gil Graham （ギルグレヤム）

**CV:** Chou Katsumi （長克己）

**Role:** Monk of a Mountain Temple

**Age: **_Unknown_

The Chief Priest of Shoushinji.

Both his voice and height are large, and he is the hearty type. Since he drinks alcohol, he's somewhat of a corrupt monk.

His splendid physical build-up is suitable for being a fighting monk.

When he was young, he made quite a sensation in the kendo world. He uses an old-school style of sword-fighting.

Since he and Lindy Harlaown's father were both old war-horses and comrades in arms, that connection between them is what led to Shoushinji being picked as the location for the training camp.

Because the temple is poor and has few parishioners, he wouldn't be able to earn enough to eat if that were his full-time job, so he also has a side-job.

_**x**__o__**x**__o_

**The Terminology**

---

**Onigashima** _means_ Demon Island. Because of the connotation of its name, it is also called Urashima. It is located across the sea from Unasaka.

**Onitaiji** _means_ demon extermination. It refers to the incident when the oni were driven out from Onigashima.

**Oni**_ means_ an ogre or a demon.

**Ryuujin** is the Dragon God of the sea.

**Youki** _means_ the weather, season.

**Unasaka** is the location where the kendo club is having their training camp. From Unasaka, you can see the island of Urashima.

**Urashima** is the island that is visible from the shores of Unasaka. It is also known as Onigashima.

**Seijou High School Girls Academy** is the school where Fate and her friends go to.

_**x**__o__**x**__o_

Over two thousand years ago, an island floating at the southern edge of Japan, which passed by a peninsula was occupied by a group of oni, a demon.

Oh, it was regrettable. Though it wasn't a big island, it was granted to us by the God Izanagi and the Goddess Izanami. It was our possession, our land from the gods. It was unthinkable to give this land to the foreign onis.

The feudal lord that was responsible for the island and the surrounding lands immediately formed an expedition of soldiers and crossed over the rough, white-crested waves to Onigashima. They were going to re-conquer the island.

However, the opponent was not a man, but an oni. He was not only robust and possessed herculean strength, but also used sorcery. As the oni lord mumbled his spells, an unearthly aura suddenly arose and turned into dark clouds. The resulting strong rains and winds turned the seas stormy.

Not only the island, but the surrounding area was quickly enveloped in difficult tides which bore into the ship's bottoms and towards the reefs and the sea became very difficult to travel across. In addition, there was an explosive storm. However, that was not all that accumulated. It was like an unconquerable oni with an iron club. The feudal lord who led the troops couldn't even lay a finger on the oni.

Moreover, whether it was the curse of the evil eye, or maybe it was the oni's counterattack, but a plague appeared and spread across the land. Hand in hand with the plague came famine and natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and drought. The situation had almost gone beyond an onitaiji, or demon extermination.

After enduring for two years, circumstances finally took a turn for the better.

When these trials and tribulations had caused the population to be cut in half, the Great King of Time appeared before the princess and related a divine revelation from Ryuujin, the Dragon God of the sea. If the princess followed the divine revelation, the Dragon God would cure the pestilence. However, after a period of time, the problem persisted.

As usual, the island was occupied by the group of oni and because of the storm their general had summoned; no one could approach the island.

The princess prayed day and night, pushing her body, and continued to pray wholeheartedly. She prayed to the Dragon God to please cure the disease and to appease the storm that protected the island Onigashima.

She prayed to summon the god that lights the sea for 3 years and finally, the god answered her prayers.

The sea turned the color of lapis lazuli and the youki that surrounded the island in clouds all disappeared and was swallowed by the ocean. The sea turned calm and the storm cleared.

The ships could sail again and this time, they could drive out the oni.

The soldiers who were watching the island got excited and immediately gathered their ships and an expedition of soldiers was reorganized, but...

On the other hand, the princess who used up her last drop of life, had her glossy black hair turn pure white, and quietly took a breath and passed away.

Her death roused her younger brother and he was appointed the leader of the soldiers in place of the feudal lord. He used the ships gathered at the port as a decoy and with only a retinue of 3 people snuck over to the island.

Only once a year, on a certain day and a certain time, a secret path to the island will appear. That way, the group could sneak over to the island without being seen, but after that, a fierce battle broke out.

Leaving the rank and file soldiers to his companions, the shogun headed towards the great leader of the oni and with a heave, drew out his bow. Against, the arrows of the shogun, the Oni King looked to the strangely shaped, craggy rocks, and grabbed and threw them, and grabbed and threw them, raining rocks down.

Would the arrows run out first, or would the rocks strike their target first? Both parties would not back down in the battle until after 5 minutes; the shogun completely changed his tactics.

Firing two arrows at once! The shogun let the arrow fly and it struck the Oni King's eye!

_It hurts! It hurts! How dare you!_ Holding his crushed left eye, his remaining right eye seething, the Oni King began a spell.

Along with the spray of blood, the black, rotten miasma roiled and with the clouds and fog, the rising youki blocked out the light and enveloped the Oni King!

That was not all! That was not all!

With an undaunted rumbling in the ground, the youki expanded and the density of the youki became thicker. The clear wind blew and...

Darker than darkness, a beast in the shape of an ox appeared. The ox beast was the size of a small mountain and had the ferocity of a tiger. Its muddy yellow eye glowed and it flung its sharpened horns around and with an air or revenge, and kicked the ground.

A normal soldier would have gritted his teeth and given up without a struggle. However, this was a great shogun and not a normal soldier. He was the leader of the four who stormed the island and had a lot of guts and was a warrior with courage. Without fear, he quickly drew his bow and 1 arrow, 2 arrows, 3 arrows, were fired. The target never changing, an arrow flew and another, striking the desired spot. However before receiving an injury, the quiver of arrows was empty.

In addition, the oni was not an ordinary oni. It was a king of oni with divine blood and was an Oni God. Then logically, of course, the arrow of a human would not harm the oni, but also logically, against a divine sword, the oni should fall. The shogun that faced the ox-shaped oni threw away his sword and in its place shone...

_Dragon God, Ocean King, lend me your power! Show me a miracle and cleave this oni's head! _

The rushing of a sword, the sound of the wind being cleaved, the definite feeling of slicing through, and the tumbling of the ox's head. And so, the oni who lost their king fled like spider lings and the subjugated people gave their allegiance to the shogun.

"And so, Onigashima was taken back from the oni. And everyone lived happily ever after."

Though I was wrapped up in her story-telling, in the end, it had a cliché ending like a fairy tale. When the applause had died down, a slight sound reached my ears.  
The sound rose above the incessant vibration and the source of the sound was the engine hitting a rough patch of road. The box-shaped bus was the same shape as a train but the sound was more intermittent than the sound of a train traveling over gaps in the rails. In the afternoon, we were in a train like that, but we changed to a bus quite a while ago.

"And that's the end of the story of the onitaiji of Unasaka..."

The person telling the fairy tale was at the front of the bus and gave a bow.

Though this wasn't a charter bus, it would not be strange to have a bus guide, but...  
The woman wearing glasses with the mike in one hand was wearing a rough jersey and didn't look like a bus guide. That much was certain.

"Hai! Hai! Hai! Lindy-sensei!"

"Yes, what is it?"

Since she was called by the title of teacher, her livelihood was that of a high school teacher. She was a second year novice teacher at our Seijou High School Girls Academy and graduated from a professional teaching school. Her storytelling ability rivaled that of a guide. As an expert in classics, she was also well-versed in fairy tales it seems.

_Classics and fairy tales? Collecting a compilation of fairy tale stories from famous places was a different field of study_, I thought.

Anyways, it was not a coincidence for a teacher and students to be on the same bus. Normally there would be a reason like a summer-training camp and the teacher was the advisor. And that happened to be our reason too.

"The place of our training camp, Unasaka, had such a legend!?" The energetic girl behind me asked.

Today was the start of our training camp and we were on a road traveling south.

"Could it be that the ultimate onitaiji kenpo was also passed down and we're going to learn it from a mysterious old man!?" Another question emerged from the very enthusiastic mouth of the girl.

"Hmm, who knows?" The so-called bus guide replied a bit suspiciously.

"What kind of answer was that?"

"I can't stand this situation, Fate-chan!" A frustrating whine came from the once energetic girl.

Rising from the seat behind me and peaking over was second year student, Arisa Bannings. She was the person with the smallest stature in our club and on top of that, her hair was tied in little pigtails which gave her a childish look. However, she had an impressive athletic ability and there was a lot expected of the novice.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure that's true." I replied nonchalantly. Talking with her increases my tension and she's the type to make me extremely tired.

"What's with that roundabout, apathetic response?"

"Because it's the truth," I answered.

"Eh...you should listen carefully to what your classmates are saying." Arisa said in a sigh.

She was a forward girl and not bashful, but maybe that was good. And the way she addressed me "Fate-chan", it made my name, Fate Testarossa, very childish…and cute? The person who gave me that nickname was the former captain. When I was sponsored into the club, my name was established like that. So we were talking about the onitaiji kenpo skills.

"Anyway, if something like that was so powerful, wouldn't it be weird for it not to be known?" I asked. The fairy tale would've been embraced and promoted and have appeared on a billboard or something.

"That might be true, but we're talking about the ultimate kenpo skills." Her response was filled with unusually weird mischief.

"So you're saying it wouldn't be leaked to outsiders?" I questioned her.

"In order to protect the skills, it would only be taught to a chosen successor."

"..." I knew it. She was clueless.

"...Look. The prevalence of kenpo was due to the last stage of the civil wars during the Edo Period. Before that, there was the legend of Minamoto no Yoshitsune being taught sword skills by tengu in the mountains." I explained in a superior voice.

Usually, onitaiji fairy tales would go in that direction, and our club was a kendo club. Anyways, due to Arisa's interests and due to my grandmother's love of reading sword fighting novels, I can't say the story didn't have any effect on me at all.

"Lindy-sensei, how long ago did the onitaiji story take place?" I wanted an answer but I didn't expect Arisa would be the one to give it to me.

"It took place a long time ago. A long, long time ago," Arisa replied but she was wrong.

"You should also pay more attention to what the teacher is saying." What a vague answer.

"Fate-san. As I recall, it was 2000 years ago."

A kind voice replied from the seat next to me and was like a life boat. Like her voice, she had a pretty face and short, luxurious light brown hair. Maybe it was because of her appearance that the previous captain gave her the nickname "Hime," a princess. Different from my nickname, Yagami Hayate's nickname didn't use a single character from her actual name. However, her generous behavior really did make her worthy of the title princess.

"Hayate..." Well, I didn't normally use her nickname but still called her by her real name.

"It seems the eras took place long time ago." She replied with her hand by her mouth.

"Yes, so it's a fake." I confirmed.

"Eh? Why is that?" This time, Arisa questioned, still peeking from behind us.

"Swords from an era ago and swords used for kenpo were totally different." Just like you couldn't wave your sleeves if your shirt didn't have them, you couldn't wave a sword that didn't exist.

"Ah, I see." I think she finally understood.

"...By the way Arisa, is Nanoha sleeping?" I've been wondering that for awhile now. She didn't join in the conversation so I was assuming she's been sleeping the whole entire time.

"Nano-chan? I don't think so." She replied with a smile.

The name Nano-chan that Arisa used is created from Nanoha's first name, using the part nano from Nanoha. Takamachi Nanoha and Arisa Bannings are in the same class in seats one and two. They are friends that live in the same dorm and are actually roommates. They are with each other 24 hours a day and are like sisters to each other.

"Oi! Nano-chan!"

Normally if Arisa was making such a ruckus, Nanoha would've said something. And also, in the previous situation, it would be Nanoha and not Hayate who would be the life boat, which is the normal pattern. Though it was strange, it could be due to the unfamiliar environment. Either the forced march-like traveling since the morning, and the teacher's speech acting like a lullaby, it wouldn't be a problem to fall asleep but...

"....." But if that wasn't the case, it was essential to deal with it now.

"Nanoha, are you awake?" I said in a very soft voice.

"...yes? Did Nano-chan do something?" Arisa questioned.

"It's the opposite. I'm a bit worried." My concerns finally showed and I was feeling a little troubled.

"Hmm?" Looking down diagonally, Arisa checked the seat next to her.

"Nano-chan? Are you asleep? Are you awake?"

Sitting next to Arisa and in the seat directly behind me was a girl with long, brown hair that was held together in a ponytail to the side and was the person Arisa called "Nano-chan," Takamachi Nanoha. With a slender figure all around, she didn't look like she could wield a bamboo sword and was the club's first member who was a manager-only.

"Teya!" Arisa stopped her fluttering hand and flicked Nanoha on the forehead. Nanoha's unsteady eyes focused on the finger floating in front of her face.

"Eh?" She looked around for a little bit and realized that all eyes were on her.

"Nyahaha…" Did anyone else found that cute or was it just me?

It looks like she probably wasn't sleeping. When you're focusing intensely, then background noise and scenery is excluded from your mind, but that I didn't think that was the case.

"You said 'Eh' Nano-chan. What's wrong?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong." A fake smile emerged from her usual calm face and I got a little suspicious.

"That's not true. Compared to your normal face, you don't look so good." Arisa questioned her.

"That's not true." Nanoha denied through her fake smile. I wish she would just tell us what's going on.

"There's definitely something wrong, right Fate-sempai?" Arisa finally addressed me the _right_ way. Like a person looking for reinforcement, she urged me to do something. I couldn't make an apathetic response so I stared at Nanoha's face.

"Nanoha," I called to her, feeling a bit unsure but no one seemed to notice.

"Y-yes?" Nanoha leaned forward to answer.

"We've been sitting in the bus a long time. Are you feeling ok?" I was concerned. She wasn't really the energetic type like Arisa and calm like Hayate so I was feeling a little worried about her condition.

"I-I'm ok."

"It's a little sudden, but Nano-chan, do you want to switch seats with me?" Arisa offered her seat next to the window, feeling concerned if she has car sickness.

"It's not like I get car sick. I'm fine, Arisa-chan." Though she said she didn't have car sickness, her face was a little strange.

"Nanoha, will you stick your arm out a bit for me?" I requested kindly. Those last two words really weren't necessary but I added it for emphasis.

"Yes?" As she asked her question, I took hold of Nanoha's slim, stretched out arm. I could see the muscles on the inside of her wrist and a few inches towards the direction of her elbow, I pressed down.

"Th-that's a pressure point isn't it? I'm really not car sick. I'm really fine!" Nanoha immediately pulled back her arm and was a little nervous. I guess she just didn't want to be a burden to anyone.

"Oh, you already knew of this technique?" I tried to make her talk more so she would be feeling a bit relieved.

"I thought massages would be useful so I read about it in a book." She was always ready. That part of her was something I secretly liked about her.

"Then you might already know this but that point affects the whole body." I had learned about it from my grandfather's job, though in the past, I thought the knowledge passed down from elders was annoying.

"Nn..."

"W-what is it?" Nanoha got nervous.

"Nothing," After continually staring at her face, my face got a little red. It was like how the sun that was setting in the west and was slowly spreading its color.

"You were spaced out a while ago. Do you have something like a fever?" I hoped to change the topic so the redness of my face has time to revert back to normal.

"I'm really fine!?" She got a bit embarrassed. I guess I ask too much.

"We've just started so you shouldn't push yourself." I added in.

"That's right! If Nano-chan collapses, our training camp meals will be in a big pinch!" Arisa freaked out from behind Hayate.

"A big pinch? It's not like we can't cook if Nanoha wasn't here." _If Nanoha wasn't here… _I thought, never bothering to finish it.

Having a contrasting opinion, Arisa thrust her finger in my face and waved it back and forth like a metronome.

"Naive! You're too naive! Sempai doesn't understand Nanoha's true ability!" As if it were her own ability, she thrust out her chest.

"Is Nanoha-chan's cooking that delicious?" Hayate replied for me. Yes, she was my life boat today.

"Of course, it's no small thing." She got excited all of a sudden.

"Then I'm looking forward to it, right Fate-san?" Hayate smiled, heartwarmingly.

"That's true." I agreed. I always looked forward to anything she does. It was something that's been made into a hobby of mine. Wow, I sound like a stalker.

"Umm..." Lindy-sensei probably thought she was interrupting something.

"What is it, sensei?" I asked, in behalf of everyone. I was captain, of course.

"Is everyone finished talking?"

- End of Prologue -

Please review and let me know if I should continue it!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: This chapter and the chapter I posted before was supposed to be in one huge chunk chapter but I decided since the original game had the opening sequence in between, I determined to separate the two and make the previous one a prologue. Just to clear some stuff, though the next one won't be as short since I won't be cutting them in half.

Reviewer's Message (R/M): This section is for those who reviewed on previous chapters. I will try to reply to every reviewer who reviews and I hope this will encourage readers to review as well!

**Honulicious **- Thank you very much. I'm glad I was able to clear a few things with the history/setting. ^_^

**-Wakai Kaze-** - Yes, I'm half-filipino and very fluent po in tagalong. Kung gusto mo, I can send you Aoishiro, full game patch. If you're interested, of course.

**imp4ever** - Thanks for the review! I wasn't really trying to follow any route that I wanted. I was just following the web novel's route which is just happens to be Yasumi. If it were Nami, Migiwa, or even Kaya, I would've made them Nanoha, though it wasn't that case. Like you said, kendo Fate is definitely pure win!

**lily **- It doesn't matter if you're unfamiliar with Aoishiro. I'm writing it as if you're actually clicking, "Start Game." Though, you don't get to choose routes.

**titi123** - If you're familiar with Yasumi's route, then you'll get the gist of the ending but I won't tell you if it's the Bad, Normal, or Happy ending.

**yojimbo89 **- Thanks for the review! I appreciate it.

**BPHaru **- I will definitely continue it! Please look forward for updates!

**x**_o_**x**_o_

My grandmother, who died a long time ago liked to travel.

Unfamiliar places. Unfamiliar people.

She really liked encountering things she didn't know about.

Just like the saying, that if you're raised in a place with a tall ceiling you'll grow tall. If the world's things became larger, people become larger.

And then, in the summer of the 2nd year of high school, I went on a long trip.  
Though it was a training camp for school, it was no different than a trip.

Traveling by train then by bus.

With my sword and equipment in my bag, we traveled to the southern sea...

--

"Nn... that was long." I stretched in my seat, hearing a soft crack on my back.

"Though we weren't kneeling in seiza position, sitting all day is still tiring." Hayate informed.

"Mmm, though not as tired as the driver would be." A job as a driver must be hell.

When the summer sun which traveled slowly through the sky was completely headed down, we arrived at our destination. With a sound peculiar to our bus, the door opened and we walked down the stairs of the of the old-style bus. The cool air of the bus's air conditioner and the hot air outside mixed together in a free-for-all fight and cutting through there.

"Yo! Number one!" Being the first one out, the energetic girl cried out at her first accomplishment.

"Hey, Arisa!" I called to her as I walked towards the side of the bus to get the luggages.

"Arisa-chan! Come get your bag!" Nanoha's voice filled the air as Arisa grinned.

"Everyone, make sure not to forget anything." Lindy-sensei said as we finished unloading our bags.

"Driver-san, thank you everything today," Being the good girl as she is, Hayate thanked the driver for driving us to our destination. It must be tough to go drive back.

Though we were still in Japan, the southern area's environment felt different. In the past, the strait marked the boundary between another country so there was a distinction between the land here and the land there. The asphalt on the bottom of my shoes felt warm and the air wavered in front of my eyes.

"....." Hot air filled my chest.

What a heavy feeling, the density of the air here was surely different. The smell of the waves heated and expanded and was a different feeling than I was used to. Every breath I took felt as though it were pressuring my lungs. In truth, it was a little hard to breathe.

"Ha..." As I gave a sigh, Nanoha also gave a sigh and our eyes met. Then...

"I've arrived! It's hot! The summer sea!" Arisa excitedly made her way to the sea.

A cry like a wild beast reached our ears and we both gave a pained smile.

"Nyahaha… Arisa-chan sure is full of energy." She gave me a very heartwarming smile that made me smile too. It was… _nice._

"That's true." I couldn't help but agree.

Maybe it was because I quickly got used to the surroundings, but I smiled and the mysterious pressure on my chest vanished. I took a look at my surroundings. The incessant sound of waves was coming from my left and between the breakwaters and the sandy beach, the vast ocean spread out. A few kilometers ahead was an island and past that was ocean as far as I could see. To my field of vision, comparing the land to the beach, the beach's sky looked wider. The setting sun that was facing the land was reflected gloriously on the water's surface, glittering among the waves. The reflected light that didn't light up the island's shadow, which was a dark shadow in the twilight, was a pity. To an observer, that shadow which looked like a black ink painting would've interested them, but to me, who had no such refined artistic tastes, the surroundings filled with color were more to my liking.

"....." Nanoha might've also had the same feeling since she gave a long sigh after a period of silence. I didn't think she'd be that disappointed, but everyone had different tastes. The mixture of red and black colors doesn't make a good impression at times either. And also standing out over there was…

"I see. So that's Onigashima," Arisa nodded as if confirming it to herself.

I had just heard that island referred to by a different name. Having an island so close that was occupied and without warning, being subjected to attacks day and night would've added a substantial amount of stress. With that past experience it's not without reason that there would be another nickname for the island. Nonetheless…

"Yo!" Over the breakwaters, and with a hand blocking the sun, Arisa jumped down. The sound of footsteps, and then a voice.

"Of course it is, but it's just a normal island, yah?" I guess she didn't want to believe the stories.

"It seems that way," I replied. Of course, I didn't want to go against what Lindy-sensei has been telling us but onis? Demon extermination? _Hah_, you're kidding me.

Looking around, she checked just to make sure.

"I said this on the bus too, but if it weren't that case, this would be a big tourist attraction." I told her, just to make sure.

"I see. There are no big billboards, or souvenirs, or food stands, or anything like that." I think she felt relieved somewhat at my statement.

"Alright," Back to the main topic. I stretched my stiff body that was stuck in a sitting position for a while.

"Why don't we head over to the inn since this a place that doesn't even sell gas?" I decided.

"That's true. We're a little over our scheduled arrival time." Looking down at the LCD display on her cell phone to check the time, Hayate looked a little worried.

"They should've contacted them earlier, so we should also be on our way." Hayate agreed.

"We've been traveling for half a day and the latter half of that on a bus, so there's bound to be some calculation errors." The training camp reservation ticket had only a vague reservation time 'About' written on it.

"Sensei, what should we do?" I looked to our advisor for help. She would know what to do in this kind of situation.

"It's ok, don't worry about the small details," Lindy-sensei informed us.

"I saw on TV that people in the South are fairly loose with their sense of time." Arisa said behind Hayate and Lindy-sensei. It seems that people from Okinawa were known to be up to 2 hours late for appointments. That television show was pointing out an extreme case though.

"I think it would be ok if we relaxed a bit more but..." Lindy-sensei wiped off the sweat gathered on her brow and fanned the neckline of her shirt to let the wind in.

"If we're going to relax, we might as well leave the luggage and change into more comfortable clothing." Sensei had a point.

"Sensei's already in a comfortable mode of dress." If she got any more comfortable, it'd be a problem.

"But I agree with that idea." Hayate went along with her suggestion. She must be exhausted.

"Then let's put a little more effort and then we can rest." Lindy-sensei was determined to get relaxed.

"Okay!" That's what we said, but it looks like it was going to more than a little bit of effort. The sun, which was traveling from the southwest sea towards the northeast shone along a road which had a mountain filled with lush vegetation on the side. The round mountain wasn't that big but it was definitely a mountain with it's up and down sides. To get to the troublesome inn, we were going to have to climb up the small mountain.

"Ah! So these are the stairs." Hayate said, astonishingly.

We quickly discovered the stone steps that thrust their way through the overgrown vegetation. The steps looked like they were made from antique materials and went diagonally up the mountain. I looked up the steps we would have to climb.

"Wah! There's a lot of steps." Arisa whined but depending on her, she might even climb up without stopping for water.

That was true. Just looking ahead I couldn't see the end of the stairs, so I had to raise my head. It would be good exercise to just go up and down the stairs a few times. At the end of the stairs was an old gate. Though it was far away, I could tell it was a grand gate though it would look out of place at a private home. The white plaster wall that surrounded the place was long and tall and tile-roofing was used.

"And it's rundown!" Arisa sounded disappointed.

True, it was rundown. The wind and rain that continually assaulted the place had faded the colors, and the bits of plaster that had fallen off emphasized that too. And also, the stone steps didn't have their gutters cleaned in places too.

"Well, I suppose you could say it has certain elegance." It was obvious Hayate was lying.

"You could just be honest." I told her.

"Then I agree with Arisa-chan," She smiled contently.

"In other words, it's rundown." I replied.

"Um..." She gave me a weak smile. "I guess it is."

She gave a little sign 'Ha' and lowered her eyebrows with a weak look on her face. "Its okay if the gate is rundown, but I wonder if the buildings inside are ok."

"What do you mean?"

"If rain pours in, it'll be a problem." Ah, so she was worried about that too.

"Hime-sempai, you're too naive. You've underestimated the effect nature has on houses in the countryside." Arisa objected.

"Eh?"

"Of course there will be holes in the shoji sliding doors and screens and spider webs in the ceilings are just the start. When you step on the tatami mats, you'll sink down and at night, the rats will have a great athletic festival... Eeeee! It's so scary! Just thinking about it is scary!" She screamed at the thought.

"Is it going to be that terrible?" Hayate started to tremble as she believed Arisa's words.

"Even if you ask me, I wouldn't know, but I don't think it's as bad as Arisa says. Sensei, how is the area around here?" I assured her as I asked Lindy-sensei for confirmation.

"I think it'll be ok. There are dilapidated houses, but Gil-san lives around here." She informed us.

"Gil...Graham-san was it?" I asked.

"Yes, he's a friend of my father's. When I asked about the camp, he replied quickly saying we could." Lindy-sensei said.

His name sounded weird, as if it wasn't his real name and he took his favorite motto and made a name change. But then again, my grandmother who passed away had a name that was written 'Akiyoshi' but pronounced as 'Shuuhou' and had a classical Chinese feel to the name.

"I hope the monk didn't say something like: 'Gugugu...I don't know if this place can stand such cute kids from the city' or something like that." Arisa had that suspiciously mischief on her face again.

"It's a monk so I don't think he'd say something like that." Hayate was in disbelief. The person called Gil Graham was a Buddhist monk in the area.

"....." Lindy-sensei was silent for a moment.

"Uwah! What's with that silence?" Arisa cried out, feeling weird about the sudden silence.

"Suzuki-san is a good person but he might have some problems as a monk…" She explained.

That monk-san lived at this place which didn't look like it had an inn. Yes, without a doubt, our training camp was staying at a temple. Looking again at the building, it did have an appropriate bearing and a mysterious effect on the heart. Like all matter is void, everything is constantly changing, human life is fleeting. No, there was a more famous phrase used to describe this nostalgic feeling.

"The sound of the bell at the Jetavana Monastary..." I started as if remembering something.

"… Has the sound that all worldly things are transitory." Eh? A voice finished my phrase for me. The voice that continued my mutterings echoed at the temple gate. As if that phrase were a magic phrase, there was an answering sound of a metal bell ringing

"The color of the Sal tree, the prosperous must decay and logic will appear." Coinciding with the sound of the bell to leave an impression, the voice that recited that was not sensei or Hayate, or any other club member. To determine the owner of the voice, I turned around.

Facing the opposite as the mountain was the calm sea we saw earlier. The setting sun partly sunk below the horizon and bathed the surface of the ocean in red. Though the sky was getting darker, because of the height we were at, I had to squint my eyes in order to shade them from the light.

"A haughty person doesn't last long, the same as a dream in a spring sky, a fierce person will also die, and before the wind is the same as a speck of dust." I confirmed the owner of the voice who was standing in a good place behind us. Though I knew from the voice, the silhouette was a girl's. She was rather tall and her limbs long. It was obvious from her form-fitting dress that she was stylish. From her face, she looked like she was from the south and the elements of her features, her eyes; mouth, ears, and nose had a good balance to them. In other words, no one would argue that she was a stunning person but...

"Hmmm...Suddenly reciting the Heike Monogatari. That's quite an appropriate hobby. Hello, everyone. I just want to confirm, but are you from Seijou Girl's Academy's kendo club?" Her voice has an unusually superior feeling to it which annoyed me.

"That's correct." I spat out.

"Then welcome to Shoushinji Temple!" Facing us, her eyes shone and my impression of her changed. Outwardly, she looks like a pretty girl, but her speech and conduct give the impression that she likes to play pranks. If that's true, then she's the type that I have bit of a hard time dealing with. For example, Arisa Bannings.

"Ah! You there, don't glare at me like that. It's not like I'm a suspicious person approaching high school girls to do some flirting." The pink-haired mysterious woman had an irritated look on her face as if she had done something wrong.

"I wasn't glaring." Arisa said nonchalantly.

"Me...neither…" Nanoha said a bit scared.

"Do you perhaps mean me?" She's been talking to me the all time so I was assuming it was directed at me.

"Yes, yes, the girl with the long blonde hair." Since a type of person I have trouble dealing with appeared, I might have unknowingly tightened my gaze.

"I wasn't glaring either." That was blatant lie, both she and I knew it. Considering the circumstance, that wasn't the least bit likely.

"Really?" The girl turned around and looked at me over her shoulder. Namely, she clearly met my gaze.

"I see. The setting sun was irritating your eyes." She found a reasonable explanation.

"Tch… And I thought you might've been dazzled by my beauty and burning with flames of jealousy." Her voice was filled with superiority again.

"..." Me? Jealous? Not in a million years!

"And I even hid myself and strained my ears to carefully time my entrance." Though she was irritating, there's something about her that made her suspicious.

"..." I kept my mouth shut but still, who does she think she is?!

"Oh? Is the sun shining in your eyes again?" She stared at me again with that _face_.

"No, not really. That's enough." As I thought, a hard to handle type of person. It's not that I don't like her, she's just hard to deal with. Even if I got past this hard to deal with sense, there would still be a suspicious feeling remaining.

"Excuse me, but are you from Shoushinji?" Hayate asked, breaking our conversation. Ah, she really is my life boat today. Something _Nanoha_ should've been doing, but I guess that was too much to ask for.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Signum. Signum Needes." She pointed her hand at her ample chest. That was quite a weird name.

"As I recall, there's a place in Germany with that name." My brain must be kicking in. I wasn't really that smart in class but I remember things clearly like it was yesterday.

"Yes, yes. I have family there also but my home is around Okinawa." Signum explained. That must also explain her southern accent.

"Huh…"

Signum Needes, she was a little relentless. Arisa, who was tracing characters in the palm of her hand thoughts were...

"If you make up the characters like this and twist some characters of your last name then the rest of your name looks like a name too." Arisa is a weird girl _sometimes_. Though I suppose that is a carefree way of saying it.

"How would you pronounce that?"

"How about 'buchou'?" Arisa asked.

"That's not good, it'll have a conflict." Signum disagreed.

"Eh?" I asked.

"Well, Arisa's buchou and the characters that resemble buchou in captain would conflict." She pointed at me and then she pointed at herself.

"...Did I say I was the captain?" I didn't say that or even tell her my name. My gaze tightened again.

"Oh! Scary!" Looking at my frankly, she gave a big shrug and looked down at me. She was about 5 to 6 centimeters taller than me.

"I can tell who the boss is just by looking. Plus the girls were calling you 'sempai'." She explained.

"That's true, Fate-sempai." Arisa agreed.

"…" I guess that was true, but it's annoying to just admit it.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha called out to me.

"You've got it wrong." I denied.

"What?" Signum asked.

One question led to another answer. Normally you would also give your first name, but introducing myself like that would make me seem too close to her. We're going to be under the care of the temple so it wouldn't be good to have any weird relations with someone from the temple. We should meet with some adult first.

"....." She seemed like she was waiting for me to continue.

"Like you said, I suddenly became captain for the summer." I explained. It should be enough to just say I am going to be captain starting tomorrow, but the former captain did as she liked. And she also colluded with sensei to have our training camp here.

"Ah…" I started but caught myself.

"Ah?" The taller woman asked.

"It's nothing." I replied.

"Really? Nothing?" She pressed on. That was close. That was _too _close. If I get angry, then my gaze is going to look hard again. She was looking closely at me.

"Hmm?" Signum studied my face which made me uncomfortable.

"What is it?" I spat out, my voice starting to lose its control.

"It's nothing..." She looked away from the mountain and Shoushinji and walked away from me.

"Ok, everyone! Let's go!" She announced, sounding almost like Lindy-sensei.

"Ok!" Arisa responded for everyone. We should've just left from the beginning.

We followed her to the stone steps. On either side of the stairs was a low barrier. The trees that were standing like a wall across the boundary stretched their branches over the border of the barrier.

"Uwah…" Hayate was astonished. It was true that the lush vegetation was a characteristic of the Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. "Shoushinji has a lot of flowers." Hayate smiled as she took a long inhale and releasing it into a contented sigh.

It was amazing to have only one type of tree and flowers blooming along the path. The green leaves that cast shadows and the light of the setting sun didn't block out the pure-white color of the flowers. This overwhelming scenery at the stairs surely separated the everyday world from the world of the temple.

"Ah! It's even more impressive in the morning and afternoon." The _annoying _woman said.

"It's not impressive in the evening?" Arisa asked.

"It does seem that a lot of flowers have fallen." Hayate said disappointedly.

"They bloom in the morning and wilt in the evening. It feels like 'the prosperous must decay' type of Sal tree, doesn't it?" Signum sighed.

"This is a Sal tree?" I asked curiously.

"Ara? Fate-san, didn't you just recite that poem because you knew about this?" Lindy-sensei asked me in disbelief.

"No...I didn't know that..."

I didn't know the white flowers the poem was referring to were these. It must've been a coincidence. That happens at times. _This is a Sal tree?_

"That's true. Should it be something else?" Sensei replied though the answer was a little vague.

"The true Sal tree was from India. It can only bloom in warm places so before the spread of greenhouses there weren't any in Japan. But in the past, a monk thought that Japan should have them, so he went around looking for them. The result was these trees with white-flowers blooming. In Japan, summer tsubaki, which are also called camellias, have become the Sal trees here." She explained further.

"Hmm..." Arisa must've been amused by this because she looked interested.

"So because of the origin of the tree, it's not uncommon to have it blooming in Buddhist temples, but to bloom so thoroughly is a bit uncommon." Sensei said.

"It is magnificent." Hayate decided.

"The top is even better. It's like a forest of Sal." Signum continued Lindy-sensei's explanation.

Pushing my back, a strong gust of wind blew. The strong wind might have been because there were no obstructions between the sea and here and had a salty smell. The white flowers that were blown held their flowery shape though and fell from the branches to the ground. The short, one-day life of the flowers was reaped by the wind...

Falling...

The white, transitory summer flowers melted into the setting sun...

Crimson light...

Dark shadows...

Dazzling, my eyelids closing...

Opening them again, there was...

That crimson color was not the color of the setting sun, but the color of the tsubaki?

"Fate-chan? What's wrong?" A sweet voiced cut my trance.

"Eh?"

"It looked like you were spacing out." Looking around it was only me and Nanoha and all the others were several steps ahead of us.

"Were you entranced by the flowers?" She asked as she studied my face.

"No, that's not exactly it..." What stole my heart were not the flowers here. What was that vision?

No...

I took a deep breath to calm my feelings

"It was perceptive of you to notice I was behind." I told her, my face looking a bit accomplished. Why, though?

"I'm still the manager you know." Nanoha stuck out her chest and held that pose for a few seconds.

"That would be a lie though. It's because of my anemia." As if she were embarrassed about her condition, for a moment, the color of her skin matched the setting sun.

"The stairs were a little steep so I was going to rest a moment and I noticed Fate-chan…" Normally, it's the club members who have to carry their heavy equipment that have problems, but at this training camp, it looks like it will be hard on the manager instead.

"..." I was quiet as I stared at her.

"Fate-chan?"

In a situation like this I could ask if she were ok, or something like that but… Maybe it was because of my grandfather who lacked courtesy, but I stared at her without saying a word as if asking about her condition. I should soften the expression on my face but then it would look coerced.

"Fate-chan? What's wrong?" She asked again.

Anyways, we were just a manger and captain. Her smile which wasn't timid urged me to answer. Since I was being asked, I should just honestly answer.

"Please pass me your luggage." I wanted to prevent a vicious circle of having Nanoha aware of her weaknesses and her manners would hide them. I couldn't just say 'Hand me your luggage'. I held out my hand to the bag which contained the first-aid kit and other equipment.

"Eh? But I'm fine."

"If you fall down the stairs it'll be dangerous." I cautioned her.

"But..." She stood her ground. Though she didn't look it, she could be stubborn and once she decided on something would accomplish it to the very end, which is what worries me.

"Oh!" Arisa's voice from the stairs above cut through us and I took the luggage from Nanoha.

"Everyone's waiting up there." I told her as I ran ahead of her, giggling.

"Ah! Fate-chan! Wait a minute!"

- End of Chapter 1 –

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